US Ambassador: Israeli Security More Important Than Palestinian Statehood

Israeli security considerations would come before Palestinian statehood, said U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman a day after President Donald Trump said he favored a two-state solution. Friedman also publicly referred to “a two-state solution” for the first time during an interview with Israeli public broadcaster Kan. He said that he has difficulty with the term because it means “so many different things to so many different people.”

President Trump told reporters in New York that he favors a two-state solution and that his administration’s proposed peace plan will be revealed in the next four months. “I think that under the right circumstances, where a Palestinian state is not a threat to Israel, it is something that people should think about,” he said.

Ambassador Friedman emphasized that “where Palestinian autonomy and Israeli security intersect, we err on the side of Israeli security.”